Couple of Things
Posted: December 20th, 2011 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 25 Comments »I’m not big into power rankings. That stuff really mattered to me back in the early 90s when they first started. I got fired up when the Eagles were ranked high and pissed off when we were disrespected. Now I rarely pay attention.
I was in the car this morning and heard Colin Cowherd’s rankings. He had the Eagles way down at …9th. Didn’t expect that. His theory is that the team is playing lights out right now and he’s judging them based on that rather than the 6-8 record.
I decided to check out PFT’s rankings out of curiosity. Florio has us down at 20th. That’s definitely fair based on the 6-8 record. My only gripe with him is that he’s got the Chiefs up at 14th. Last week they got whipped by the Jets. KC has the same record as us. How on Earth are they 6 spots better? I’m not offended. I just think that is dumb logic. Put them at 19th and us at 20th and I can’t say anything.
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Dumb thought time. As I was re-watching the game, it occurred to me that Trent Cole might be jealous of Phillip Hunt. We all know that Trent is an avid hunter and outdoorsman. I wonder if Trent sees an Eagle DE named “Hunt” and wishes that was his name.
You know how players pay other players for their jersey number when joining a new team. I wonder if Trent will make Hunt an offer for the number and the name. That would be a nice Christmas present to himself.
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I told you guys a few weeks back about flipping over my Eagles wall calendar to December only to see DeSean Jackson. I was mad at him at the time and flipped back to another month rather than having DeSean up there. I changed that the other day. It occurred to me that this could be the end of DeSean’s time in Philly. He has driven me nuts, but also has been a good player. I moved the calendar back to December. DeSean had a solid game vs the Jets. Should I give him credit or is it all due to me flipping the calendar?
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Have you started thinking about the Jets/Giants game? We destroyed the Jets, but that wasn’t a favorable matchup for them. I think the Jets do match up well with the Gmen. Our speed was a real problem for the Jets. We could run to the edge. Vick was able to run around when he got pressured. The Giants have Bradshaw and Jacobs as runners and neither is fast. Eli won’t elude pressure the way Vick did. We don’t have a workhorse WR so Revis Island wasn’t a huge deal for us. Taking Hakeem Nicks away from the Giants can have a definite effect.
And the Giants defense was vulnerable to the run last week. The Jets have a better OL than the Skins so I would expect them to pound the ball a lot.
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For those of you who like to follow the NFL league wide…over at ScoutsNotebook we now have a weekly column – Monday Afternoon Quarterback. It is written by my pal Gimpy. He’s a long time friend from the EMB. Degenerate Pitt fan, but good guy other than that.
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I’ll be posting the DGR in a bit.
When I see DeSean Jackson race through our backfield to make a TD-saving tackle on a turnover, trying hid damnedest to strip the ball back out too, all is forgiven.
By my count, that is the second such play from him this year…
Still. I’m chalking it up to Tommy flipping the calendar.
I agree DeSean showed some heart on that play, but we are on a win streak and Tommy changes something?! What if that was the magical charm?
I Hate to say it but I have worn my Desean Jersey to watch 3 games this year, Our demolition of Dallas, our nuking of New York, and our ripping out the jugular of the Jets. So I might take some credit, of course what was I doing the rest of the time?
J E T S… Jets Jets Jets.
I hear that all the time
(because I live in Manitoba)
“I told you guys a few weeks back about flipping over my Eagles wall calendar to December only to see DeSean Jackson. I was mad at him at the time and flipped back to another month rather than having DeSean up there. I changed that the other day. It occurred to me that this could be the end of DeSean’s time in Philly. He has driven me nuts, but also has been a good player. I moved the calendar back to December. DeSean had a solid game vs the Jets. Should I give him credit or is it all due to me flipping the calendar?”
Did you flip back to October or whatever and be in awe of the amazing Akeem Jordan? Because that’s how I felt about that month at the time looking at him.
It’s funny how quickly my mindset has switched from “ha ha Rex you idiot / Sanchez sucks” to “the Jets are really one of the better teams in the NFL, the Giants better look out”.
Tommy….curious about your feelings on the mock draft over on BGN?
1) Luke Kuechly, MLB, Boston College
2) Robert Lester, FS, Alabama
2b)Brandon Thompson, DT, Clemson
I know its early, but I love looking at these…I have seen others that have the bucs beating us to Luke and stating with Asante leaving and DRC entering his contract year, do the Eagles go with a CB high? Walter Football has us taking
1) Dre Kirkpatrick, CB, Alabama
2) Ronnell Lewis, DE/OLB, Oklahoma
2b) Dwight Jones, WR, North Carolina (saying desean is leaving)
The other thing of note for all you Hightower – Burfict fans…first of all these two are 3/4 LBS….Burfict could be a MLB in a 4-3 but is more suited for a pro 3/4. A lot of Mocks have the ravens and steelers taking them. Hightower going first and Burfict going second. Who ever has the high pick gets Hightower and the lower get Burfict. Walterfootball has the Ravens getting Hightower..I think he is the perfect Ray Lews II….and the steelers taking Burfict. He is the perfect James Harrison II…totally nuts!!!
I’m a Burfict fan, and I question why you believe he more suited as a 3-4 ILB?!? Seriously, the Sun Devils even play a 4-3. ILBs in a 3-4 are ideally smaller than Burfict (e.g. Timmons and Farrior for Pitt). Burfict is a Mike LB in a 4-3 system.
Ray Lewis is the same size as burfict and a 3/4 LB. Timmons is too. Burfict coverage skills suck. He is a run stuffer. 4-3 LB need to be able to cover TE. Burfict would get smoked by a good TE.
People are enamoured by burfict you tube videos. Watch him for a full game. He makes a lot of bad reads, overruns plays, terrible in coverage, and gets a ton of unsportsmanlike penalties. Eagles would never take a chance on that. Character issues are something they shy away from. I personally would like th eagles to get Tulluch or DeMeco Ryan’s. But those are big ifs. Like would be my number 1 choice if no FA. Bucs will have a higher pick than us and need LBs just as bad. Luke may be gone.
Now I can agree with you that Burfict has some issues, and like Tommy posted, the Eagles would never take a player that. But depending on the # of underclassmen entering the draft, there could be a deep crop of LBs in the draft. Eagles had a chance at Tulluch this past offseason and passed for whatever reason, I don’t see them hooking up in ’12. DeMeco Ryans resigned with the Texans within the past year or two, so unless Texans release or trade him, Eagles will not have a shot at him. What’s the love for Ryan? He was a Will LB coming out of Bama and IMO is not a proto 4-3 mike. Luke (if he leaves school) would not be the only MLB in the draft, there are some other good prospects that the Eagles could target.
Hopefully this offseason, the Eagles can decide and commit to an identity on defense and get the best LBs that fits that identity.
I want to set some facts straight here. Ray Lewis coming out of da U weighed in somewhere in the 220lbs range and was considered by many analysts as undersized for a LB, part of the reason he was a late 1st round pick. Now in his 30s he is at 250lbs. Timmons is listed at 6’1″ 234 lbs, according to ASU Burfict is 6’3″, 250lbs (which probably translates to 6’2″, 240 something) not the same. Before Bmore went to a 3-4 D, they played the 4-3 with Lewis being your prototypical MLB. It was with the 4-3 that Bmore had they greates success winning the SB and establishing that unit as one of the NFL’s best defenses
Burfict will not be an Eagle. Not the kind of player we need at all.
#1 – Love Luke, but I don’t think we need or want a S. Thompson at DT makes no sense to me. We have CuJo, Patt, Dixon, and Thornton at DT for next year. Give me a pass rusher if anything. Thompson isn’t a pass rusher. He’s similar to Patt.
#2 – I’d rather not add a CB, but Dre is pretty darn good. Big fan of Jones and would love to add a big WR to the mix.
Old Phillip Cole was a merry old soul
And a merry old soul was he;
He called for Trent’s stops, and he called for his sacks
And he called for Babin’s three.
I used to always check out the power rankings too, but now I don’t care. I think part of it is all the Eagles talk I get from here, BGN, and other philly sites that I don’t need to look at the power rankings.
As far as Jets/Giants. The Jets really need that game to get into the playoffs. And the Giants aren’t the Eagles. Their defense is horrible, and they will give up a ton of points. And Manning has fell back to Earth as well. I think the Jets win easy.
Question for Tommy and all the other scout enthusiasts out there your thoughts on:
1) Kuechly clearly had a phenomenal season and will be one of the first LB taken, but a less heralded guy on my radar is Jamie Collins (jr/OLB, So. Miss). Collins is a converted DB that played OLB/DL for So. Miss. He’s tall at 6’3″ and kind of reminds me Urlacher (converted DB to LB, moved to MLB in 4-3).
2) DTs – if the Eagles stay with the “Wide-9” next season I hope they follow the Titans mold of DT (bigger!). Some big DTs that are intriguing: Whitney Mercilus, Derek Wolfe and Drew Nowak.
Collins is a Junior. I only pay attention to elite underclassmen. I’ll scout him next year or if he declares (which I assume he won’t).
Mercilus is a DE from Illinois.
Wolfe is a DT. Goes 6’5, 295 (approx). Good frame, but not a heavier guy than our DTs.
Nowak lists at 6’4, 295. Again, good frame, but not heavier/stronger than our DTs.
I do like Wolfe quite a bit. Would love to get him in the draft.
I did come away Jet green with envy over one part of their game on Sunday. Their KORs, both of them! We can’t even find one that they have two.
Where is a Brian Mitchell clone?
I would love a Mitch clone. Miss having that guy on the Eagles. Great STer.
I’m not optimistic, but still hoping things get worked out with DeSean.
The last month has gotten me very confused with his future. I don’t know what to think.